It is known that vehicle manufacturers rely upon data gathered through an ATD that is used as a human surrogate in order to determine the crashworthiness of their vehicles. In one common form ATDs—which are more popularly known as crash test dummies—are outfitted with extensive amounts of sophisticated sensors and associated equipment in order to provide accurate biofidelic indicia that can help vehicle designers accurately model how the energy from a vehicle impact is absorbed by passengers within a vehicle, as well as design vehicles to eliminate or reduce bodily harm to such passengers in the event of an impact. One popular ATD is called a Test device for Human Occupant Restraint (THOR) that is manufactured by Humanetics Innovative Solutions of Plymouth, Mich. Because of their weight, cost and fragility, the THOR and related ATDs are stored during periods of non-use on conventional storage carts. Such carts employ a storage chair and a storage bracket that work in conjunction with one another to keep the ATD in a generally upright sitting position.
There are numerous disadvantages with conventional storage carts. For example, such carts generally only permit ATD storage in one position (typically sitting). This can in turn make it difficult for personnel that are responsible for ATD placement and storage to maneuver the ATD between storage and ready-for-test positions. In addition, the ATD extremities (in particular, the legs and feet) hang off the cart, which tends to create a tripping hazard, as well as the potential for such extremities to get caught on the floor during cart transport. Furthermore, the ATD clothing (which may be used to enhance the accuracy of a crash test by providing more realistic frictional contact between the ATD and a seatbelt, harness or related occupant restraint) can only be installed once the storage bracket is removed, making it very cumbersome to install such clothing while the ATD is positioned in the vehicle. Moreover, the cart is difficult to move and unsteady when it has the ATD installed. All of these create ergonomic concerns for the technician or other personnel conducting the crash test.
Other storage carts employ a chair-like structure with a generally horizontal seat portion, a generally vertical back portion secured to the seat portion and a leg portion to provide support to the seat and back portions. While such configurations provide a measure of support to the ATD, they do not use interchangeable components as a way to have the cart perform both ATD long-term storage and ATD ready-to-test functions, as the presence of the structure around significant portions of the ATD that is useful during a storage function precludes its use during a ready-to-test function\s.